Holybro Kakute H7

PX4 v1.13

WARNING

PX4 does not manufacture this (or any) autopilot. Contact the manufacturer for hardware support or compliance issues.

The Holybro Kakute H7 is full of features including dual plug-and-play 4in1 ESC ports, HD camera plug, barometer, OSD, 6x UARTs, full Blackbox MicroSD card slot, 5V and 9V BEC, easy soldering layout, and much more.

The Kakute H7 builds upon the best features of its predecessor, the Kakute F7, and further improves on hardware components and layout. Dual plug'n'play 4-in-1 ESC connectors simplify support for x8 and Octocopter configurations, keeping assembly simple and clean.

The board also has an on-board barometer, LED & buzzer pad, and I2C pad (SDA & SCL) for external GPS/Magnetometers.

INFO

This flight controller is manufacturer supported.

Key Features

• MCU: STM32H743 32-bit processor running at 480 MHz
• IMU: MPU6000
• Barometer: BMP280
• OSD: AT7456E
• Onboard Bluetooth chip: Disabled with PX4
• 2x JST-SH1.0_8pin port (For Single or 4in1 ESCs, x8/Octocopter plug & play compatible)
• 1x JST-GH1.25_6pin port (For HD System like Caddx Vista & Air Unit)
• Battery input voltage: 2S - 8S
• BEC 5V 2A Cont.
• BEC 9V 1.5A Cont.
• Mounting: 30.5 x 30.5mm/Φ4mm hole with Φ3mm Grommets
• Dimensions: 35x35mm
• Weight: 8g

Where to Buy

The board can be bought from one of the following shops (for example):

• Holybro

TIP

The Kakute H7 is designed to work with the Tekko32 4-in-1 ESC and they can be bought in combination.

Connectors and Pins

This is the silkscreen for the Kakute H7, showing the top of the board:

Pin	Function	PX4 default
B+	Battery positive voltage (2S-8S)
SDA, SCL	I2C connection (for peripherals)
5V	5V output (2A max)
3V3	3.3V output (0.25A max)
VI	Video input from FPV camera
VO	Video output to video transmitter
CAM	To camera OSD control
G or GND	Ground
RSI	Analog RSSI (0-3.3V) input from receiver
R1, T1	UART1 RX and TX	TELEM1
R3, T3	UART3 RX and TX	NuttX debug console
R4, T4	UART4 RX and TX	GPS1
R6, T6	UART6 RX and TX (R6 also located in the GH plug)	RC port
R7	UART7 RX (RX is located in the plugs for use with 4-in-1 ESCs)	DShot telemetry
LED	WS2182 addressable LED signal wire (not tested)
Z-	Piezo buzzer negative leg (Connect buzzer positive leg to 5V pad)
M1 to M4	Motor signal outputs (located in plug for use in 4-in-1 ESCs)
M5 to M8	Motor signal outputs (located in plug for use in 4-in-1 ESCs)
Boot	Bootloader button

PX4 Bootloader Update

The board comes pre-installed with Betaflight. Before PX4 firmware can be installed, the PX4 bootloader must be flashed. Download the kakuteh7_bl.hex bootloader binary and read this page for flashing instructions.

Building Firmware

To build PX4 for this target:

make holybro_kakuteh7_default

Installing PX4 Firmware

The firmware can be installed in any of the normal ways:

• Build and upload the source

  make holybro_kakuteh7_default upload

• Load the firmware using QGroundControl. You can use either pre-built firmware or your own custom firmware.

INFO

If you are loading the pre-built firmware via QGroundcontrol, you must use QGC Daily or QGC version newer than 4.1.7.

PX4 Configuration

In addition to the basic configuration, the following parameters are important:

Parameter	Setting
SYS_HAS_MAG	This should be disabled since the board does not have an internal mag. You can enable it if you attach an external mag.

Serial Port Mapping

UART	Device	Port
USART1	/dev/ttyS0	TELEM1
USART2	/dev/ttyS1	TELEM2
USART3	/dev/ttyS2	Debug Console
UART4	/dev/ttyS3	GPS1
USART6	/dev/ttyS4	RC SBUS
UART7	/dev/ttyS5	ESC telemetry (DShot)

Using TELEM2 (USART2)

The TELEM2 port (USART2) has no exposed solder pads as it is intended for use with Bluetooth telemetry (this does not work with PX4).

You can expose the solder pads and use the port by removing the two resistors marked with an X. No other configuration should be required.

Debug Port

System Console

UART3 RX and TX are configured for use as the System Console.

SWD

The SWD interface (JTAG) pins are:

• SWCLK: Test Point 2 (Pin 72 on the CPU)
• SWDIO: Test Point 3 (Pin 76 on CPU)
• GND: As marked on board
• VDD_3V3: As marked on board

These are shown below.